In Hatred We Find Empathy
by Reiven
Summary: Sohma Hatsuharu seldom wanted anything. But one of his earliest wishes was to meet this person who had also been completely ridiculed by the mouse.


_Standard disclaimer applies._

This story was written as per request by Lil Ali on Livejournal. It was originally intended as a relationship fic, but ended up more of a budding friendship one. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out though.

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**In Hatred We Find Empathy**  
_By Reiven_

He wasn't a conformist, even as a child. He didn't like what kids his age usually liked, he didn't do what everyone else was doing and he didn't wear what other people was wearing. Sohma Hatsuharu never found the need to be like everyone else because he wasn't like everyone else.

The only thing that mattered to him was that he was born the Zodiac of the ox, his hair was black and white and he hated the mouse with a burning passion.

So when he overheard his parents talking, the elders talking and the rest of his family talking about the beast; the vengeful cat and what misfortune he would bring upon the family, Sohma Hatsuharu wanted to find him, see for himself what kind of monster had been brought into this world. But mostly, he wanted to meet this person who had also been completely ridiculed by the mouse.

In his own opinion, if ever there was a sinful beast born into the family, it was the mouse.

He hated the mouse, and he wasn't afraid of letting everyone know it.

His parents knew it. They were worried that his anger and hatred towards the cursed Zodiac would consume him. They tried everything to make him stop, but he never did, especially when everyone around kept talking about and praising the mouse.

Yuki is so sweet. He's such a beautiful person. He is Akito's favourite.

Everyone always said the same thing and Hatsuharu hated it. He hated the mouse. He hated how everyone always laughed at him, calling him the stupid ox. It was all the mouse's fault. It was all Yuki's fault. It was Yuki's fault that he was angry all the time; that sometimes his rage blinded him and he wanted to break things and hurt others. Sometimes the mere thought of Yuki made his blood boil and he wondered if that was what the cat felt.

He always heard the people talking about the cat who'd killed his mother and drove his father away. No matter what happened in the family, whenever someone fell ill or passed away, they would blame the misfortunes on the cat.

The cat, they said, was the bane of the Sohma family. Poor Kazuma, they added, for taking in the beast.

Sohma Hatsuharu wanted so much to meet the vengeful cat, that when he stumbled upon him one sunny afternoon by the side of the pond with his knees pulled up to his chest; his striking orange hair putting to rest any doubts and his sharp red eyes looking out blankly into the horizon, he didn't know what to say or even think.

He watched silently, though the change in the wind alerted the boy to his presence. Haru looked on without a word (for once, his anger wasn't the only thing occupying his mind) as the head turned sharply, eyes narrowing in recognition of someone from the family.

"What?" He'd growled out.

Haru didn't answer, merely stared. This was the monster, the bane, the evil cat spirit that cursed the family? He was just a boy, like Haru. His hair was ruffled, his knees scabbed and his eyes haunted. This was just someone who had been made a mockery by the mouse. While Haru would live on in ridicule, this boy would forever live on in hate.

At that moment, Haru decided that he didn't hate the cat like his parents and the rest of his family. After all, Haru didn't like things that other people liked.

He took a seat on the uneven ground beside the apprehensive boy, crossing his legs and looking at the spot he had been gazing at in the distance.

"I'm Haru," he'd said after a while without even looking, but he knew that for a second, a startled look flashed across the other boys' eyes. "I'm the ox who everyone makes fun of."

He didn't receive a reply for a while, though he hadn't been expecting one. But after a while, a slow, almost timid response reached his ear. "I'm Kyou, the cat who everyone hates."

Haru gave a small smile at that. He hadn't smiled in a long time, most of the time his anger gave no way to any sort of happiness. "Not everyone," he'd said.

That was all that needed to be said and they could both go on hating the mouse together.

_...End._

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